If he were only remembered for his effort to preserve and protect Dr. King's heritage for successive generations, he would be worthy of the highest honors. Stokes did so much more.

For veterans. For poor children. For young lawyers. For his beloved Cleveland, he could do no wrong.

Congressman Stokes left many questions of Dr. King's death to be answered by future generations. But, as we celebrate Dr. King's legacy, can we also imagine the possibilities of a better America if Dr. King had lived a full and complete life?

What if King had been allowed to help build his precious dream?

What fractures in America's social fabric could have healed? What moral or spiritual alarms would he have sounded to empower our schools?

What marches and movements would he have begun to end the plague of violence in our cities?

Could his moral leadership have healed and comforted broken families devastated by drugs?

We will never know. He was taken too soon. But today we can look at traces of his life to gain a glimpse of Dr. King's better America.

Few know that, as Dr. King lay dying, a loyal aide removed a lit cigarette from his hand.

Dr. King smoked.

The 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, was organized by an openly gay aide, Bayard Rustin.

Dr. King believed in gay rights.

At the height of his influence, or because of it, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover declared King a threat to the national security of America. He was said to be a subversive, a communist, and he attempted to discredit King and the movement.

It did not work. We celebrate his legacy as a symbol of the promise of humanity.

Imagine if a man with King's moral compass breathed life into the Constitution during the infancy of our nation. Imagine one willing to risk all, resisting the temptation to enshrine chattel slavery into our founding documents, or during the destruction and carnage of the Civil War, or even today when the roar of ambition drowns out the necessity of statesmanship.

We do not need to imagine. Congressman Louis Stokes' life of service to Cleveland, his protection of Dr. King's legacy, and his guidance in a world where all seemed lost reminds us a warrior for peace and an angel of hope is needed in all times.

Beyond any doubt, Louis Stokes' wisdom and his smile will be missed in the halls of power. I just wish Dr. King had a chance to retire with him. I think we all do.

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